Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1887-01-13

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By Meserh gsi, ,cBvsss ans' sscrrnrno
in N. sopotap,tsa.
Professor Robert w. Rogers Of Haver-
ford College, delivered lecture upon
IsThe History Of AssyFIau Discovery and |
Deciphermentn at Friends Meeting |
House, Fourth and West streets Thurs
iiay afternoon. The subject, which ia always |
one of engrossing interest was made ad-
ditionally 80 by the speakers pleasant |
delivery and popular and attractive
method of treatment. A chart OF ounei
form characters was Tackled upon the wall
and served as matter for Interested con-
by the Egyptologists and
Ohaidaio scholars of the audience until
the moment when Professor Rogers re-
marked that 1t was placed upon the wall
ME speaker introduced the subject by
placing his audience, tiguratiyely, at the
eastern extremity OF the Mediterranean,
AZ The port Of Beyrout The traveller
passed up the valley Of The Iitany, north
of the sources of the Jordan, ard, crossing
the range or Anti ssebaassr sraerged into
the syrian desert. The western world
was left behind, its mountains, rivers, and
vegetation. aud an uninterrupted Bweep
of the eve TO the distant eastern horizon
saw nothing but the desert No habita-
tion, not the voice of bird, nor the
rustie of a tree, nothing but the crunch Of
the canels foot in the hot sand. Suddenly
after days of travel o long low line is per-
ceiyed in the direction Of Palmyra. II is
the ruins Of the Biblical Tadmor or Pal
myra, After more desert travel the trees
along the banks Of the Euphrates are
reached, After crossing the historic
stream desert travel again recommences
when once more high mounds stretching
for 90 miles in either direction block the
horizon line. Some of the mounds rear
so feet in altitude. On nearer approach
they are discovered covered with trees
and vegetation and all around littering
the ground in every direction are found
fragments of pottery. The traveller
asks his companion, the wandering
Arab, what they are aud what place 1t is.
The reply is Nineveh. Nineyeh, for 700
wears the mistress of the world, that city
Of Bible history, which in the yeer 6O7
B. O. was overthrown. Leaving the ruins
the traveller proceeds down the Tigris,
meeting at different points more mounds,
not 30 extensive or large as those of
Nineyeh, but sufficient to evidence the
existence of great and flourishing popu-
lation. Returning to the Euphrstes very
large mounds are met again, and these In
continuous rows. Soon the tower OF
Belus appears in view, which, with other
| ruins, indicate the travellers presence al
| the famous Babylon. Trees and green
vegetation are seen, and the shadows Of
| the towers look inviting after the 70 days
1 march across the desert, with the blind
ing sand storm against the face, causine
| il to smart with constant pain. YOU
| dragoman says you must not pitch youi
| tent there. It is full of hidden dangers
| wild beasts and venomous serpents
| Nobody dare rest among the shady ruins
The Arabs pitch the tents outside, in til,
desert, and so must you it you value You
personal safety. ALI that is heard in this
1 ruipous desolation of the great Babylon
| is the call of the jackRll or the occa
sional roar of wandering lion. The pic
ture OF the ancient city is exactly por
trayed in Isaiah XIII, 10, 20 and 21
"And Babylon, the glory of Kingdoms
the beauty of the Ohaldees' exoelleney
she'll be as when God overthrew Sodon
and Gomorrah. 1t shall never be iDhab
tied, neither shall it be dwelt in, from
generation to generation neither shal
the Arabian pitch tent there; neither Hhal
the shepherds make their fold there. Blu
wild beasts Of the desert shall lie there
and their houses shall be full of dolefu
creatures, and owls shall dwell there, an
satyrs shall dance there. And the viii
J beasts Of the islands shall cry in the
: deeolate houses, and dragons in the
: pleasant palaces, and her time is nee
] to come and her days shall not be PR
: longed." This prophecy of Isaiah, th
speaker explained, is carried out wit
! wonderful and terrible historic exactitud'
Prior to 1920 the whole knowledge tt
world was possessed OF in regard
, ancient Assyrian and Persian history Wa
comprised in the Old Testament and Il
writings Of Greek and Latin historian
Biblical history is only fragmentary
a regard to Babylon and Nineveh and frol
r It can be adduced no chronology wha
r ever; in fact the Old Testament is not
r history of the world, nor does it claim
r be. In Genesis K reference is made
!, Nineveh and the land of Shinar, and
!, Judges III 8, and Psalms LxzxIu on
3 hints are given almost worthless to Il
J historical student. Nineveh is referre
) to again in Jonah III. In the four bool
J. Of Chronicles and Kings, howeve
i numerous references to early Assyrii
n and eastern history are made. If o.
n were to add all these passages togeth
\ there would be found nothing of t
Le history of those places only as they {
d fected Jewish history; nothing ia relat
" OF the habits and customs of the peop
m Greek and Latin historians do not ole
D. up the difficulty, and the trouble is
a creased by the fact that what is given
ID these historians does not fit in with Bill
1T cal statements; they apparently cont
d dict one another. Formerly in order
10 make an acceptable history of Ninev
,d and Babylon 1t was the fashion quietly
m set aside the Old Testament and take
Al full the Greek and Latin statement. /
ss We have learned something new. Lat
rs ask how we have got our present kno
ee edge. II has been obtained by follow
IN two lines of study.
In 1913 q traveller In ancient Per
noticed the peculiar typographical str
d. fure of Persepolis that the mounta
or closed in around it as a wall. He noti,
2 that the searped rocks were carved {
)s: marked all over With strange sig
"a. Afterwards it struck him that those
3 culiar marks meant something.
noticed that they stood in groups
1; three, and that the frat group WAS m
g: distinct, and contained less invol
10. characters than theseeond, and the sec'
"a less than the third; while the last wal
in regular medley Of characters.
g; thought suggested itself could these
ite three distinct languages and then '
lie should there be three lapguagesp
of But, even to-day, the speaker explai
81. when Turkish pssha is issuing deS
80 he publishes it in three languages, II
ath ish, Arabic and Persian. That thou
ne was Immediately applied which of col
nd WAS quickly done by any one Of ordir
10. information. He noticed that the mi
Ite. on the rocks were made in one gen
80. direction, TO the right, also that
, in wedges OF the characters were either
tha pendicular or horizontal, and then o
viii sional ones were found slanting, II
facts did not give the traveller IN
trouble rs he was aware of the fact
!. the Shemites wrote from right to left
the opposite to what we do. ALI this
guess work, however, as he knew notI
whatever of what he gazed at. But
.. guessed that the uprights and horizon
were words and the slants divided I'll
s.,s ~ Investigations were not renewed I
~ 1868 when Dane named Niebuhr, 70
IL of the historian, copied what he O
and published them in the back pa,
se set; his book of travels. There they lay ,
,sti a,d 1898 when European scholars sttem
IN =. to decipher them. By this time grea
,,,ts " terest arose in the study of these anS
I ~, tablets. There was the greatest dific
aara t in the way and only by the slowest
M, ~ most careful effort any positive info